FOUR. THE COLD PROFESSOR

Shanon closed her eyes as Anthony's lips moved over her tightly pressed lips. She didn't expect Anthony to have very warm and soft lips, instead of cold and rough lips. Shanon was lost in the kiss. She enjoyed every second of it and let the waves of pleasure creep over her sensitive body. She wanted to feel that pleasant tickling sensation forever.

But reality hit her again when Anthony's palm pushed her shoulders away and ended the kiss. Shanon was left in an embarrassment that made her cheeks turn red.

Anthony maintained his position as close to his bride as possible. His eyes moved carefully, tracing every inch of his bride's face. Starting from her chin, then moving up to her lips, then her nose, and finally her eyes. He couldn't be wrong that the woman he just married was his student.

“You owe me an explanation, Ms. Wilson.”

After he successfully intimidated his bride, Anthony straightened up and turned around to finish the remaining matters of their wedding. He put a diamond ring on Shanon's trembling finger and Shanon did the same to him. He was satisfied that his grandfather did not doubt his marriage at all. He signed the marriage documents right in front of his grandfather and didn't leave any flaws that would make his grandfather suspect his marriage was fake.

Anthony glanced at his bride, who seemed hesitant to sign her name above the blank column with the other woman's name. He was tempted to sue the woman and her stepmother for cheating him in such an important deal. But his grandfather's presence managed to save the woman from his anger for a while. He still needed that woman to act in front of his grandfather.

"Congratulations to both of you. May God bless your marriage.”

"Thank You."

Anthony waited until the priest was out of the hall and let the silence fall over them for a moment.

“Grandpa, my wife and I invite you to dinner tonight at your favorite restaurant.”

“You want to impress me? OK, I'll come tonight. Congratulations on your wedding.”

Jefferson moved closer to his grandson, then turned to the bride who had kept her head lowered since earlier.

“Lift your face, honey. Let me see you.”

Her smile was half forced as she lifted her face and shook her new grandfather's hand.

"T-thank you for your presence at our wedding."

“We will meet again tonight. Hopefully, you will be much more relaxed at dinner and no longer need to hide your face.”

Shanon nodded slowly. She felt intimidated being in the midst of her husband's terrible family. It wasn't just Anthony who exuded a frightening cold aura, even his grandfather was also very scary.

“Mr. Bruce, I think I should go now. But before that, what do we do next?”

“My assistant will take care of the remaining payment. You can go now."

"Okay. It was a pleasure doing business with you.”

Her stepmother didn't even bother to look at her to say goodbye. Shanon cursed her stepmother in her heart and hoped that the woman would soon rot in hell.

“Why did you allow my stepmother to just leave like that?”

“What do you think I'm going to do to her?”

"I don't know," Shanon shook her head slowly and lowered her face.

"Let us go home. We have a lot of things we need to straighten out at home.”

“H-home? Where to?"

“My house. You're my wife now. Like it or not, you have to live in my house.”

“But, I haven't brought my things. Yvone didn't tell me that I would live in your house after marriage.”

“We'll take care of it later.”

Anthony turned away and left Shanon alone behind. He took his cell phone from his trouser pocket and started calling his assistant.

“I'm on my way home. Prepare a new agreement letter with the details I will send to your email. I want everything ready on my desk when I get home.”

Anthony put his cellphone back in his trouser pocket and growled as he looked back. The bride pissed him just minutes after they were officially married.

“Can't you walk faster? I have a lot of work waiting for me.”

“So-sorry.”

Shanon quickened her steps while carrying her heavy tutu. She was annoyed that Anthony didn't even understand her condition and only thought about himself.

"What's your name?"

"What?"

“Are you deaf? Your name?"

"Don't you already know my name?"

“Your first name.”

“Shanon. I thought you knew—”

“I don't memorize the names of all my students. I have thousands of students every year. And don't think you're special enough to deserve my attention.”

Shanon glared in annoyance. What a bad luck for her. She had to get involved with the professor she hated most on campus.

“Get in the car now.”

“You already know my name. Why do you still treat me like a stranger?”

"You are a stranger to me. You're not the woman I should marry."

Annoyed, Shanon yanked the sports car door open and immediately climbed in. She sighed in annoyance when the tutu of her dress got caught and torn.

“You clumsy girl. I thought you were pretty smart in class because you got a scholarship.”

“My dress getting caught has nothing to do with my intelligence.”

Anthony ignored the sarcasm and immediately drove his car towards his house. He drove in silence, and so did Shanon. His bride kept turning her face to the window and not even looking at him. Anthony decided to use Shanon properly as a wife because he had paid Yvone a heavy price to marry her stepdaughter.

“Can you cook and do housework?”

"Yes I can. I'm skilled enough for that.”

"Good. I don't need to hire a housekeeper anymore from now on. You do all the housework and cook for me. I prefer home-cooked food with organic ingredients to restaurant food.”

"So you married me just to make me your housekeeper?"

"Of course not. There are some things my housekeeper don't do.”

"What doesn't your housekeeper do?"

“Make love to me and serve me in bed.”

Bloody hell! Shanon cursed herself for never thinking that far ahead. She was too busy thinking about Avery and how to pay for her hospital bills. She forgot that her husband would definitely demand that from her.

“Why are you just silent? You've never had sex before.”

“N-no, I just thought that we wouldn't do it because of this wedding—”

“I have paid dearly to your stepmother. I can't waste you. I will use you properly.”

Those were the most painful words Shanon had ever heard in her life. She'd never dealt with a bigger jerk than Anthony Bruce. That man was a heartless devil. Sarah and all her friends at college are a bunch of stupid creatures for worshiping a devil jerk like Anthony Bruce.

“You don't need to be offended. You should know what will happen to you after agreeing to the agreement.”

“I wasn't the one who agreed to the agreement.”

“Yeah, not you. But you took that woman's place to marry me. You have to do things that a woman should do, including acting like a wife who is crazy about me in front of my grandfather.”

"I didn't expect you to live in such a complicated family. Everyone thinks you have a perfect life. Handsome, rich, smart, and powerful. Almost all the women on campus adore you. They don't know what is really hidden behind your big name.”

Anthony gripped the steering wheel tightly. He had never met a woman who would comment so impudently about his personal life. All his ex-lovers never even cared about the complexity of his life. They only cared about his money and power. They treated him like a precious trophy. But his own wife underestimated him and treated him like trash.

“Come down. We have arrived."

Shanon wasn't surprised that Anthony had a very luxurious house with a large yard, fountain, and high walls surrounding the building. Shanon stared at the iron gate that closed automatically almost without blinking. She felt like she was in prison, instead of a luxurious house.

“Who lives here besides you?”

"Only me. The housekeeper used to come three times a day a week before I fired her. The gardener comes every weekend to tidy up the garden. Otherwise, I can call a technician if I need something to repair my house.”

“What about security?”

“This house is equipped with advanced technology which is directly connected to the police station. If the robbers tried to break into my house, the police would know about it immediately. Apart from that, this area is safe. Never seen a thief wandering around here."

"Aren't you lonely living alone in a house this big?"

Shanon tried to catch Anthony who was walking very fast up the steps to the main door. She was amazed when she stepped into Anthony's very luxurious house. She was greeted by a very large hall, dominated by classic black and gold ornaments. Anthony's aura radiated strongly throughout the house. It seemed like everything in the house was a part of Anthony which had been transformed into various kinds of furniture.

“There are lots of places I can go if I'm lonely.”

“Pubs? Bar? Club? Brothel?"

"City Library. I would rather sit there and read a book for hours.”

Shanon shrugged her shoulders indifferently. She followed Anthony to the right wing of his house which was very spacious. After passing through the hall, she found a long hallway that led to a single, giant double door. Shanon assumed it was Anthony's study.

“You must be thirsty. Want something to drink?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Anthony grabbed a carton of juice after considering that Shanon didn't do well with beer or any kind of liquor. Shanon looked like a teenage girl in his eyes. A kid.

“Thanks. I'm really nervous today.”

Shanon gulped the orange juice greedily and finished it in a matter of seconds.

“Tough day, huh?”

"Very."

Shanon started to relax a little more. She sat as comfortably as possible in front of Anthony's desk, watching her husband read several documents neatly placed on his desk.

My husband?

Those words felt strange in her mind. Shanon never imagined she would marry a man as cold as Anthony Bruce.

“Well, let's discuss some of the agreements. My assistant has printed out a new agreement letter for you. You may read it before signing, but first we will discuss a few things.”

"What about my name on the marriage documents?"

 “I will take care of it.”

"How long will we be married?"

"You didn't think this marriage would be forever, did you?"

"I am not sure. You're clearly using this marriage for business. So you must have made an agreement with Avery about the duration of this marriage."

“Smart girl. We won't be married forever. I will only use this marriage until my grandfather bestows all his assets on me.”

“And about… the other things you mentioned in the car?”

“Sex and your duties as a wife are the benefits I get after I pay you handsomely. Avery has agreed.”

Her cheeks flushed at the thought of her sister discussing intimate matters with a stranger in the office like she was discussing business. But she could understand Avery's decision to do that. There were no options left for them since their father died. Yvone had control over their lives and all their father's assets. Sadly, their lives were even sold to pay off Yvone's debts.

“There is one more new point that I added to the agreement letter. Since you are my student, you have to keep our marriage a secret from everyone at the university. Your best friend is no exception."

“Are you embarrassed to have me as your wife?”

“Why should I be embarrassed? It's just for practicality's sake. I don't want to cause a scene on campus. After all, we won't be married forever. They would rather not know anything about the relationship between us.”

“Deal.”

Shanon felt there was no need to share her personal life with her friends. Being sold by her stepmother to a foreign man was nothing to be proud of at all.

“You can read it before signing it.”

“I don't think that's necessary. I will sign it now.”

It made no difference to Shanon. Her life had been bought by Anthony Bruce, period. The agreement letter was just a formality to protect her rights. But in reality, she would never be whole again after all the agreements ended. Anthony gave a half smile, seeing Shanon sign the agreement quickly and pushed it towards him. He knew that Shanon was completely different than the meticulous Avery. He should be grateful to have Shanon because having her was much easier than having any woman out there. Shanon didn't demand anything from him. She was a very obedient girl. Meanwhile, Avery gave too many conditions which were a bit detrimental to him.

“So, what am I going to do next?”

“You are free to do anything in this house. This evening we will go to dinner at my grandfather's favorite restaurant."

“Okay. I'll be ready before seven.”

“Great. I'll show you to your room on the second floor.  Follow me."

Shanon grumbled to herself because Anthony was more than just a jerk. He didn't even offer to help when he saw her struggling with her dress. Anthony walked very fast, leaving her behind. And Shanon had never hated a man more than she hated Anthony.